sideswipe |ˈsīdˌswīp|
noun
1 a glancing blow from or on the side of something, esp. a motor vehicle.
2 a passing critical remark about someone or something.
verb [ trans. ]
strike (someone or something) with or as if with a glancing blow : Curtis jerked the wheel hard over and sideswiped the other car.

]]>By: AlsoRanhttp://blogs.reuters.com/gbu/2011/08/01/taking-a-swipe-at-our-headline/comment-page-1/#comment-347546
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:55:53 +0000http://blogs.reuters.com/gbu/?p=19463#comment-347546I know what the dictionary says but I also know the vernacular, where “swipe” means to steal.

When I read the headline on Google News I was misled to thinking that someone had stolen two police cars.

“Driver hits L.A. police cruisers, injures 4 officers” would have been less ambiguous.

But maybe it’s just me.

Anyhow, thanks for your time and attention to this rather trivial matter.